Can Maño: Unshakeable

This FlashTip goes out to all those people who, like me, would basically love to leave in a deep-fried world – a world in which the only way to consume any kind of food, from spaghetti to duck breast to strawberries and chocolate brownies, were to plunge it into a sea of luscious batter and allow it to make love with sizzling olive oil. And all these years in Barcelona, I simply have not found anyone serving better fried food than Can Maño.

All Fried Out

There is a reason why you will often find people queueing outside this typical, no-frills-whatsoever restaurant: those who try it cannot help but turn into vocal evangelists. You might have to wait among them, since Can Maño does not take reservations, but this is one of those rare places that are really worth the wait. The unusually fresh calamares, chipirones, pescaditos, boquerones,and so on are served in large portions at unbelievable (read: honest) prices. Such a perfect mix of outer crispness and inner tenderness is hard to come by, especially considering it is so light on the stomach, and when the cooks are in top form might as well bring you to oily tears. The sooner you start exploring their menu – without forgetting the (fried!) aubergines and potatoes – the better.